In two Federal Register notices, the Technology Innovation Program (TIP) of the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) asks for public comments on six NIST-prepared white papers outlining potential areas for research grants and, separately, requests detailed suggestions of critical national needs and associated technical needs for future TIP funding competitions.

TIP assists U.S. businesses, universities and other institutions in furthering and accelerating innovation through shared support of high-risk, high-reward research addressing needs and challenges meriting national attention. The call for white papers and public reviews of TIP-developed white papers are part of the process that TIP employs to select appropriate areas for funding. (See "NIST Issues New Call for White Papers on Critical National Needs,"NIST Tech Beat, Sept. 8, 2009.)

The six draft white papers that are the subject of the current call for public comments distill topics in five areas of critical national need—water, manufacturing, energy, civil infrastructure, and healthcare—that are under consideration for the upcoming funding competitions. The draft white papers are:

Water: New Technologies for Managing and Ensuring Future Water Availability;